Railway crossing signal



Aug. 20, 1940. J fsKuuN 2,211,756

RAILWAY bnossme SIGNAL Filed Feb. 15, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet l zTck mc slulzin Aug. 20, 1940. J. MISKUL IB I 2,211,755

' RAILWAY CROSSING SIGNAL Filed Feb. 15, 1 3 Sheets-Sh'=et 2 3'15 JIL j c J \D IN l-Il-lL-ll-Il-J VM'MQAZK Aug. 20, 1940. J. MISKULIN 2,211,756

RAILWAY Enossme SIGNAL Filed Feb. 15, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 @7202 WFL'SZ zaZz'n W6 0% Patented Aug. 20, 1940 warren stares am ss PATENT" orrice 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a signal device for level crossings of railroads that may be operated from a distance by a train approaching the crossing and be returned to the all clear position by the train leaving the crossing.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a crossing signal in which all of the operative mechanism is suitably housed and the operating contacts placed substantially above rail level to obviate their being affected by winter and snow conditions.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a crossing signal in which all of the operative mechanism, with the exception of the train contacts, is placed underground and free from weather and surface conditions.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a crossing signal which is not subjected to a series of impulses and vibrations usually associgo ated with those forms of mechanism that are operated by rail contacts and the wheels of trains passing thereover.

In my present invention there is'only the initial contact of the train striking the first contact 25 lever required to put the signal into operation and the contacting of the second contact lever to restore the signal to the all clear position; hence this mechanism is freed considerably from the shock and wear usually experienced when oper- 30 ating the majority of crossing signals.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a crossing signal in which the semaphore arm or gate is only energized in one direction, 1. e. when closing, and is returned to the all clear 35 position by gravity under the action of a counterweight, this feature relieving the mechanism of considerable wear and tear and ensuring a long life thereto.

With these and other objects in view, I have in- 40 vented the railway crossing signal that is the subject matter of this application and which is further described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming part of this application, in which: I

45 Figure 1 is a view of a model apparatus that diagrammatically illustrates the crossing signal and its connections to contact lever's adapted to be positioned adjacent the rails of a railway and be actuated by passing trains.

50 Figure 2 is a plan view of a portion of a double track railway having a level crossing, and illustrates the positioning of the signal arm and shelter housing, also the contact levers adjacent the rails of the road-bed for actuating the con- 55 trols of the signal mechanism.

Figure 3 is an elevational view of a portion of railway road-bed and indicates, in a general way, the mounting of the actuating rods below the road-bed and shows some of the connections to the contact levers mounted above the road-bed. 5

Figure 4 is a plan viewoi the links 42 connecting the lower arms of the contact levers to the connecting rods.

Figure 4A is a side view of the same.

Figure 5 illustrates one of the eyes formed upon 10 the ends of the connecting rods for connecting to the links shown in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is an illustration of one of the contact levers and its mounting framework.

Figure 7 is an end elevation of the operating 15 mechanism of the signal arm and shows the mounting of the actuating mechanism in its framework and the control and rewind cam on the end of the spring shaft.

Figure 8 is a view of the inner face of the disc upon which the signal arm is mounted and illustrates the contact points thereon, and indicates, in dotted lines, the position of the actuating cross rib of the companion disc which actuates the signal arm.

Figure 9 is a side section of the signal arm and mounting disc on line 9-9 of Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of the operating mechanism, taken on line lit-l8 of Figure '7, and illustrates the escapement mechanism for controlling the speed of the apparatus when operating.

Figure 11 is a side elevation of the signal framework illustrating the mounting of detented control and rewind cam and pivoted release plate.

In these drawings like numerals indicate like parts throughout the separate views and the numeral I indicates a shelter housing having a pivoted and counter-balanced signal arm 25 displayed irom one side of the housing, which arm is mounted upon the projecting portion 3 of a shaft 20 projecting through one side of the housing from a mechanism t housed within the shelter.

The mechanism t which is illustrated diagrammatically in Figure 1, comprises a powerful clock-like spring 5, one end of which is secured stationarily upon one of the corner braces 6 of the side frames 1 in which the mechanism is as- 'sembled.

The other end of the spring 5 is secured upon the shaft 8 upon which it is wound. Upon the shaft 8, adjacent the spring 5, is mounted the gear wheel -9 having the spring rewind click Wheel I and usual ratchet pawl I I mounted on the side thereof.

The gear wheel 9 drives a small pinion gear I2 mounted upon an intermediate shaft I3 which carries alongside of the small pinion gear I2 a larger gear wheel I4 which is in engagement with an escapement mechanism I5 designed to control the speed of the spring shaft 8 when the same is under motion. The escapement device I5 can be of any type that will operate two ways. As shown, I5 is a thin, flat body with two spaced teeth, which oscillates and whose teeth alternately engage the teeth of the wheel I4 as it is turned in either direction.

The spring shaft 8 has also mounted upon it the gear wheel it meshing with a small pinion I'I mounted upon the stud I8 positioned immediately above the shaft 8.

The pinion ll engages with the gear wheel I9 mounted upon the shaft which extends through one of the side'frames I and is fitted with a disc which has a cross rib 22 formed upon the outer face of it.

Upon the projecting outer end 3 of the shaft 20 is pivotally mounted a complementary disc having two V-shaped, diametrically opposed lugs 25 formed upon one face which register with and upon opposite sides of the cross rib 22 formed upon the disc 2I. (See dotted lines in Figure 8.)

Upon the outer face of the disc 23 is bolted the signal arm 25 having an adjustable counterweight 25 at the bottom thereof. The outer disc 23 is held upon the end of the shaft 20 and in engagement with the disc 2I by any suitable means, such as a collar and stud or pin. The signal arm is normally held in a vertical position by gravity.

Upon the outer end of the spring shaft 8 which projects through one of the side frames 1 is mounted a detented control and rewind cam 2'! which is engaged by a pivoted detent release plate 28.

The release plate 28 is pivoted at 29 upon a suitable bracket member 30 which is mounted and secured upon one of the side frames I. The release plate 28 has two longitudinal slots 3I and 32 formed adjacent the bottom thereof in which are mounted the ends of two control rods 33 and 3 3.

The rod 33 connects with a contact lever arm 35 placed adjacent the rails of a railway at some distance from the level crossing which is to be controlled by the signal arm 25.

The reason for placing the contact lever 35 at some distance from the level crossing is so that the signal may be actuated and released to the closed position by a train approaching the crossing and actuating the contact lever 35.

Likewise, the control rod 34 is connected through a pivoted cross bar 36, mounted below the road-bed of the railway, with a long control rod 3'! to the contact lever 38 positioned adjacent the rails of the opposite track at a point distantly removed from the level crossing of this track.

The longitudinal slots 3! and 32 in the release plate 22 permit the actuating and movement of the latter by either of the rods 33 or 34 without interfering with the setting of the oppositely connected contact levers 35 or 38.

The movement of the release plate 28 from engagement with the control cam 21, by either of the rods 33 or 34, permits the spring shaft 8 to revolve under action of the spring 5 and sets in motion the interconnected mechanism that operates the signal arm 25 to the danger (down).

The control cam 21 only permits of the spring shaft 8 revolving one quarter of a revolution each time the latter is released for movement as this is sufficient to operate the signal arm to the closed (danger or down) position.

The release plate 28 is pivoted off center so that it is always in engagement with the detented control cam 21 after being released under action of one of the rods 33 or 34. Spring means could be provided to hold the plate 28 in more positive engagement with the earn 2'! if desired, but such has been found unnecessary,

The signal arm is restored to the up or all clear position by gravity upon actuation of either of the contact levers 39 or 40 positioned adjacent the rails and at a point close by the level cross- It will be noted from Figure 1 that the contact lever 39 is connected through the pivoted crossbar t! to the contact lever 40 and this lever is connected by the connecting rod 42 to the rewind and control cam 21.

When either of the levers 39 or 40 is actuated it actuates the cam 27 and, incidentally, its

mounting shaft 8 upon which the spring 5 is secured, to rewind the spring. Therefore, each time the signal arm 25 is operated to the closed position, the spring 5 is rewound through the cam 21 by actuation of either of the levers 39 or 30 by passing trains. never become run down and is always in a condition to operate the signal arm 25 whenever the release mechanism 28 is actuated by passing trains.

As the shaft 8 is turned back by the cam 21, it also restores the shaft 20 through the gear train I6, I1 and I9 to its original position to permit the signal arm 25 to be restored to its safety position by gravity; hence the cross rib 22 formed upon the disc 2i disengages its contact with the lugs 24 of the disc 23 as it is returned to its original setting of all clear, and permits the pivotally mounted disc 23 to revolve upon the outer end 3 of the shaft 20 under action of weight 26 and position the signal arm 25 in the vertical or all clear position.

The signal arm 25 is only actuated by the spring 5 to the closed or danger position and is restored by gravity to the all clear position and, therefore, no mechanical effort is required except to close the signal.

Summary of operation Assume a train to be traveling on the upper track (Figure 2) from right to left. the train (not shown) engages lever arm 35 as the train passes and moves it to release the detent 28 from the cam 27. This cam, under the influence of spring 5, when thus released, turns shaft 3 counter-clockwise fourth turn, by which time the next tooth of the cam 21 will have ci'igaged the tooth of the plate 28, whereupon motion of shaft 8 is stopped. During this one-fourth turn of the cam 2'1, gear train IS, IT, I 9 turns shaft 20, whereby rib 22 acting against lugs 24 turns signal arm 25 down (counter-clockwise movement in Figure 8) to the danger position.

After passing the crossing, the trip on the train next engages contact lever 40 which causes cam 2! to be turned back (clockwise in Figure 11) to its initial position. The turning back of cam 27 turns shaft 8 accordingly, restores full tension in spring 5, and through gear train I 6, [1,

Hence the spring 5 can A trip on in Figure 11 one- I9 turns shaft 29, with rib 22, back (clockwise in Figure 20), thus permitting gravity (acting on weight 26) to restore the signal arm 25 to its vertical or safety position.

Having now described my invention and the nature of same, what I claim and desire to be protected in, by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a railway crossing signal of the kind described, the combination comprising, a shaft, a disc freely mounted on the shaft having two diametrically opposed lugs formed on a face thereof, a counterbalanced signal arm secured to the disc, said arm normally resting in a vertical position, another disc fixedly mounted on the shaft, a rib projecting outwardly from the latter disc and engaging the lugs on opposite sides thereof, a spring-actuated mechanism adapted to turn the shaft in one direction, said rib bearing against the lugs to rotate the arm into a horizontal position, means for returning the shaft to its original position, the rib disengaging the lugs to permit the arm to be returned to its normal vertical position by gravity, and means connecting the spring-actuated mechanism and the shaft returning means to contact levers adjacent the rails of the railway, said contact levers being actuated by passing trains to operate the signal arm.

2. In a railway crossing signal of the kind described, the combination comprising, a counterbalanced signal arm freely mounted upon a shaft, said arm normally resting in a vertical position,

'means on the shaft for engaging the arm to rotate the latter into a horizontal position when the shaft is turned in one direction, said means disengaging the arm when the shaft is returned to its original position, a spring-actuated mechanism for imparting the turning movement to the shaft, a detented control cam mounted on said shaft, a detented release plate pivotally mounted adjacent the cam in engagement therewith, said plate normally holding the cam against the tension of the spring mechanism with the signal arm in its vertical position, means for momentarily disengaging the plate from the cam to allow the spring mechanism to rotate the arm into its horizontal position, and means for returning the cam to its normal position thereby permitting the signal arm to be returned to its vertical position by gravity, said last two means being actuated by trains on the railway.

3. In a railway crossing signal of the kind described, the combination comprising, a counterbalanced signal arm freely mounted upon a shaft, said arm normally resting in a vertical position, means on the shaft for engaging the arm to rotate the latter into a horizontal position when the shaft is turned in one direction, said means disengaging the arm when the shaft is returned to its original position, a springactuated mechanism for imparting the turning movement to the shaft, a detented control cam mounted on said shaft, a detented release plate pivotally mounted adjacent the cam in engagement therewith, said plate normally holding the cam against the tension of the spring mechanism with the signal arm in its vertical position, a contact lever connected to the plate for momentarily disengaging said plate from the cam to allow the spring mechanism to rotate the arm into its horizontal position, and another contact lever for returning the cam to its normal posi-.

.tion thereby permitting the signal arm to be returned to its vertical position by gravity, said contact levers being positioned adjacent the rails of the railway and being actuated by trains passing thereover.

4. In a railway crossing signal of the kind described, the combination comprising, a shaft, a disc freely mounted on the shaft having two diametrically opposed lugs formed on a face thereof,

a counterbalanced signal arm secured to the disc,

said arm normally resting in a vertical position, another disc fixedly mounted on the shaft, a rib projecting outwardly from the latter disc and engaging the lugs on opposite sides thereof, a spring-actuated mechanism adapted to turn the shaft in one direction, said rib bearing against the lugs to rotate the arm into a horizontal position, a gear mounted on the shaft, an escapement mechanism engaging the gear adapted to control the speed of rotation of the shaft, means for returning the shaft to its original position, the rib disengaging the lugs to permit the arm to be returned to its normal vertical position by gravity, and means connecting the spring-actuated mechanism and the shaft returning means to contact levers adjacent the rails of the railway, said contact levers being actuated by passing trains to operate the signal arm.

JACK MISKULIN. 

